Grandfathered In with Sprint?

[SlothyUK]

On Sprint Unlimited x2 Phones, Both Hero's. Contract is over and paying month-to-month. Currently NOT paying for the $10 "smartphone fee". Plan on getting the GNex and a Viper.

Anyone here renew their contract and wangle skipping the $10 extra fee?

Cheers

 

[falconey]

There is no way of getting around the fee once you upgrade. I was able to get my son a line of service without the fee after the fact, but it took a whole lot of wrangling. It took them activating my old blackberry curve and a lot of explaining that he would only be using the phone for a call here or there an not much data at all, most of which would be on my home wifi. He is only 9 years old. The way I swung this was calling the normal line and selecting the option of cancel service. Once the rep answered I explained what I was trying to do. It probably didn't hurt that I'm a decade plus customer and had 3 lines already. Good luck!

Oh and just to add I didn't mention anything about canceling service I just selected that option to speak with a rep with more ability to help me.

 

[SlothyUK]

fairs fair I guess.
Cheers

 

[Kendog210]

Nope. Its here to stay and for everyone. Not sure why they dont just add it to their advertised pricing. Basically factor it in with the cost of service and compare pricing to other carriers.

 

[falconey]

Nope. Its here to stay and for everyone. Not sure why they dont just add it to their advertised pricing. Basically factor it in with the cost of service and compare pricing to other carriers.

I think it's obvious why they don't include it in the pricing.

 

[BenChase7]

If they included it in the general pricing plans, everyone with "feature phones" would get screwed out of 10bucks a month. It's actually good they don't include it in the plans, imo.

 

[falconey]

If they included it in the general pricing plans, everyone with "feature phones" would get screwed out of 10bucks a month. It's actually good they don't include it in the plans, imo.

I get a discount on my plan so I would rather it be included in the overall price of the plan. As a fee it is not subject to any corporate discounts.

 

[stealthpaws]

I called them about this when it suddenly showed up on my bill when I changed some phones on my account. The $10 fee is a mandatory fee which is actually charged by ...the FCC if I remember correctly...some government agency or another. It's because "smartphones" have much higher data usage. If you were using a smartphone before this new fee was implemented, then you were grandfathered in without the fee. But the minute you upgraded or purchased a new smartphone, it kicked in. I don't recall the exact details, but if you can get past the 1st level of Sprint reps, and get someone who actually knows something, they'll explain it. The company simply chose not to include it with plans - they had the option of whether or not to do it, and chose to list it separately.

 

[falconey]

I called them about this when it suddenly showed up on my bill when I changed some phones on my account. The $10 fee is a mandatory fee which is actually charged by ...the FCC if I remember correctly...some government agency or another. It's because "smartphones" have much higher data usage. If you were using a smartphone before this new fee was implemented, then you were grandfathered in without the fee. But the minute you upgraded or purchased a new smartphone, it kicked in. I don't recall the exact details, but if you can get past the 1st level of Sprint reps, and get someone who actually knows something, they'll explain it. The company simply chose not to include it with plans - they had the option of whether or not to do it, and chose to list it separately.

You were lied to. You will see mandatory government fees in the appropriate section of the bill.

 

[DonB]

You are correct it is mandatory but not for the FCC, for Sprint

I called them about this when it suddenly showed up on my bill when I changed some phones on my account. The $10 fee is a mandatory fee which is actually charged by ...the FCC if I remember correctly...some government agency or another. It's because "smartphones" have much higher data usage. If you were using a smartphone before this new fee was implemented, then you were grandfathered in without the fee. But the minute you upgraded or purchased a new smartphone, it kicked in. I don't recall the exact details, but if you can get past the 1st level of Sprint reps, and get someone who actually knows something, they'll explain it. The company simply chose not to include it with plans - they had the option of whether or not to do it, and chose to list it separately.